Her Name's Katie
by Sakura Scout
Summary: The flight to Kerberos is a long one and the Holts have found one topic of discussion they never tire of. Written for the Shidge Week 2016 Day 2: Katie Holt prompt. Originally posted on Tumblr.


**Title** : Her Name's Katie  
 **Fandom** : _Voltron: Legendary Defender_  
 **Characters** : Shiro, Sam, Matt  
 **Rating** : G  
 **Warnings** : Kerberos mission and Katie Holt headcanons. This was written under the assumption that Shiro was around 19 or 20 when he left on the Kerberos mission. Also written before the Official Voltron Podcast revealed that Shiro has been a Holt family friend for years.  
 **Disclaimer** : _Voltron: Legendary Defender_ belongs to Dreamworks, World Events Productions, and Studio Mir. _Asteroids_ belonged to Atari. _Space Invaders_ belongs to Taito. I own the stories I write.  
 **Summary** : The flight to Kerberos is a long one and the Holts have found one topic of discussion they never tire of. _Written for the Shidge Week 2016 Day 2: Katie Holt prompt_.  
 **Word Count** : 950  
 **Originally Posted** : 20 September 2016

* * *

.

It took roughly five months to reach Kerberos from Earth and another five or so to get back. Added to the estimated week that was planned for on-site research, the total came to 11-12 months. That was a lot of time for three men to be stuck in close quarters to one another with little to no outside influence. Only so much could be done to pass the time and keep the small crew sane. Luckily, these three men were capable thinkers—two of which who came from a family with a girl who seemed to be the light of their lives.

"I have a daughter not that much younger than you, Shiro," began Sam as Shiro dealt out the cards between them and Matt who perked up at the new topic of discussion.

"Her name's Katie. She just turned 17 and graduated from college," Matt preened. "She wants to join the Galaxy Garrison, but she wants to get her masters first."

"In which field of study?" inquired Shiro.

Sam chuckled and laid down a four-card straight starting from a three of Hearts and going up to a six of Diamonds. "Robotics, Electrical & Computer Engineering, and Computer Programming just to name a few. She was still deciding on which to tackle first when we left."

"She'll breeze through all her courses easy, possibly even faster than expected if the program she chooses doesn't require a thesis." Matt frowned at his father. "Hey! I thought we agreed Spades are lowest and Hearts are highest."

Sam just smirked at his son, teeth gleaming mischievously. Matt retaliated with sticking out his tongue.

"You have a lot of faith in her," Shiro interjected, placing a four-card straight of his own—six of Clubs low, nine of Spades high.

"Of course. She's not just Dad's daughter and my baby sister: She's the pride and joy of the Holt family." Matt's eyes twinkled as he placed another four-card straight—Jack of Diamonds low, Ace of Spades high. "If you think we're gifted, well … Katie? She's a gift."

.

After the first time Katie was brought up, she appeared in almost every conversation following.

The three of them would be eating and Matt would sigh. "I miss peanut butter. Katie loves peanut butter, you know?"

"Not peanuts, though," Sam would add while spearing some freeze-dried something with his fork. "Odd little quirk, but it's something she shares with her mother: loves relish but hates pickles."

"Dad, that's not the same."

"True, but similar enough."

.

Shiro would be piloting through the asteroid belt with Matt on communications, keeping a keen eye for any free floating objects Shiro couldn't see.

"It's like a real life version of _Asteroids_. Well, kinda. I'm good at it, but not as good as Katie. No matter how many times I try, she always gets the top score." The shorter man would sigh. "At least I'm the reigning champ of _Space Invaders_. I really hope she doesn't beat my high score while I'm gone."

.

Sam and Matt would be conducting some Zero Gravity experiment while Shiro held the video camera. If a particular problem arose either of the Holt men would mutter, "If only we could get Katie's input on this."

The two bespectacled men would go on about some of the experiments Katie had done and the inventions she had made—they were all mainly done by herself, but there were a few where father and/or brother helped.

During these particular ramblings, the Holt men were the most animated. Shiro would wonder if this was the effect the exuberant Katie they described had on those around her.

.

There would be a disagreement amongst the three of them, and either Sam or Matt (usually Matt) would bring Katie into the mix.

"Katie would kick your ass for even thinking that."

"Your sister would not needlessly beat someone up over something so petty."

"Dad, really?"

"You're right. She'd be quick and merciless."

And Shiro would be at a loss as his two crewmates would bow in defeat to whoever had the most "Katie approved" argument, which mainly banked on who had the most bold yet effective idea out of the bunch.

Surprisingly, Shiro won most arguments this way.

.

In the following months when traveling seemed more like moving from point A to point B and the silence in the cabin became too much, Shiro could always count on either Matt or Sam to fill it with the simple prompt of:

"Tell me about Katie."

And they would always oblige.

By the time their shuttle landed on Kerberos, Shiro felt he knew the best and worst of Katie Holt—knew her likes and dislikes, her merits and shortcomings, her hopes and fears. If he were to talk to her, he was certain that he would so without much problem and keep her interest should she become too bored—a problem or an opportunity depending on what she did without anyone or anything to distract her.

The only thing Sam and Matt never fully divulged was Katie's exact appearance. The Holt men would claim she was a shorter and cuter version of Matt in the way of appearance, but lacked the photographic evidence to backup their claims. ("Our family's not big on having our pictures taken. I think the only recent photo there is of any of us is of me and Katie a week before the launch and she's got it.") That wasn't to say that they didn't try, but Shiro would wonder how much justice Sam's description of Katie's crooked smile did her and if she would ever grace him with it—if he would be inclined to return it with a smile of his own just as her father proclaimed.

.

* * *

 _The card game they're playing in the first scene is Thirteen. I normally play with Hearts high and Spades low, but I've played games where it's Spades high and Hearts low like in this fic. I figured that the Holts would decide like some of my older cousins like to, by placing down the lowest Three card first. It's always Hearts or Spades, but I don't really mind either way._

 _Also, I headcanon that by the time Shiro crashes back on Earth that Pidge is 16-18 years old. Sometimes I like to think that she's the second oldest of the Paladins and laugh at the thought of Hunk being the youngest._

 _Please leave comments, constructive criticism, and/or questions in the box below._


End file.
